Monachino flattered to be linked to Eagles, but says no one has contacted Ravens

Pictures of the Ravens game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17.

Aaron WilsonThe Baltimore Sun

John Harbaugh and Dean Pees have never hesitated to praise linebackers coach Ted Monachino, both expressing confidence recently that he's ready to run an NFL defense.

Although Monachino has been repeatedly linked to the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive coordinator vacancy, the NFC East franchise has yet to contact him to set up an interview. And he's not necessarily expecting them to make contact after the Super Bowl on Sunday.

"The best thing about this group is the diversity in the group, having young guys who understand how important it is to be good followers and veterans who understand what it means to be good leaders," Monachino said. "It's been a blast. You learn just as much from them maybe more than they ever learn form you The job 'Wink' has done with the inside guys is over the top."

The emergence of Ellerbe as a three-down linebacker in his fourth NFL season has been a major development for the defense.

The pending unrestricted free agent is shaping up as a must-sign for the Ravens after recording a career-high 89 tackles and 4 1/2 sacks while also battling ankle, toe, thumb and back injuries.

"It's hard to find guys who have enough talent to do everything that you need, to do it on all three downs," Monachino said. "Dannell has always had it. What he's done to really change himself is he's become so much of a better pro than he was as a young guy.

"That's a normal evolution of the game. From study to sleep to diet to training in the offseson to studying on his own, he's really ramped up his game. He's a special athlete that is becoming a special footbal player."